Shraddha Walkar and Aftab Poonawala: India gripped by gruesome 'fridge murder' - BBC

For the past fewer days, India has been gripped by what's being described arsenic a "murder astir foul".

Police successful the capital, Delhi, person arrested a young man - Aftab Poonawala - connected allegations of murdering his live-in spouse of 3 years.

They allege that Mr Poonawala murdered 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar successful May, chopped up her assemblage into dozens of pieces, stored them successful his location fridge and, implicit the past fewer months, went astir disposing them disconnected - a portion astatine a clip - successful antithetic parts of the city.

Mr Poonawala is successful custody and has not yet made immoderate nationalist statement, but connected Tuesday, helium told a tribunal that "the accusation being dispersed against maine is not correct" and that helium was "fully cooperating with the constabulary investigation".

The decease came to airy lone past week aft Ms Walkar was reported missing by her father.

Since then, lurid details of the alleged execution person made regular headlines successful India, with nuggets of unverified accusation being fed by unnamed policemen to section journalists.

The transgression has been dubbed "the fridge murder" and the immense involvement successful the lawsuit has seen quality websites moving unrecorded pages connected the probe that are being updated each fewer minutes.

And choler has spilled implicit onto the streets - protesters person burnt Mr Poonawala's effigies, demanding strict punishment for him.

Lawyers, activists and erstwhile constabulary officials person expressed interest astatine the aggravated media coverage.

Vikram Singh, who retired arsenic manager wide of constabulary successful the authorities of Uttar Pradesh, called it "extremely irresponsible".

"A ball-by-ball commentary is detrimental to the origin of the probe and disrespects the deceased," helium told the BBC.

The breathless sum has besides made it hard to abstracted the atom from the chaff - reports are mired successful inconsistencies with small clarity connected the facts of the case, including connected however the mates met.

Though Ms Walkar and Mr Poonawala lived successful the aforesaid country successful Mumbai city, police accidental they met connected Bumble, a dating app.

But successful the missing ailment to the Mumbai constabulary successful aboriginal October, her begetter says they met successful 2018 astatine a telephone centre wherever they some worked.

Ms Walkar's relations with her household were strained arsenic they disapproved of her narration with Mr Poonawala.

In his constabulary complaint, her begetter said helium had tried to dissuade her from moving successful with Mr Poonawala since "we are Hindus and Aftab is Muslim and we don't wed extracurricular of our caste oregon religion".

But the mates started surviving unneurotic successful 2019 and moved to Delhi earlier this twelvemonth and rented an flat successful Chhatarpur Pahadi area.

The couple's friends and the constabulary accidental the 2 quarrelled often and impeach Mr Poonawala of abusing her.

Senior constabulary authoritative Ankit Chauhan told ANI that Shraddha started putting unit connected Mr Poonawala to wed her and that "on 18 May, helium mislaid his temper and strangled her".

Ms Walkar's begetter approached Mumbai constabulary aft being alerted by her friends that they had not heard from her for a fewer months and that her telephone had been switched off.

On Wednesday, a handwritten enactment surfaced that Delhi constabulary said was written by Ms Walkar successful 2020 successful which she had complained to the Mumbai constabulary that helium had beaten her up and "was threatening to termination her and chopped her up into pieces" - precisely what constabulary allege happened 2 twelvemonth later.

Following criticism, Mumbai constabulary responded that the lawsuit had been investigated, but "it was closed aft she gave a written connection that it had been resolved and determination was nary dispute".

On Tuesday, erstwhile Mr Poonawala was asked by a tribunal if helium knew what helium had done, helium replied that "whatever happened took spot successful the vigor of the infinitesimal and was not deliberate".

His connection was interpreted by immoderate arsenic a confession, but his lawyer Abinash Kumar rejected that Mr Poonawala had confessed to execution and said that helium was "fully cooperating with the investigation".

Soon aft his arrest, constabulary had said that Mr Poonawala had confessed to his transgression and fixed them immoderate leads to find evidence.

Thereafter, they searched his flat and took him to a adjacent wood wherever - they said - "he had disposed of assemblage parts".

Police accidental they person recovered immoderate bones and assemblage parts which person been sent for forensic investigation and volition beryllium matched against the DNA samples of her begetter to find retired if they are so Ms Walkar's.

Armed with metallic detectors, constabulary person besides been combing bushes successful Gurgaon, a Delhi suburb, for knives that were allegedly utilized to hack the assemblage and aft divers fished retired immoderate bones from a pond successful Delhi's Maidan Garhi area, it was emptied to find much evidence.

On Thursday, the accused underwent a polygraph and is aboriginal expected to beryllium enactment done a narco-analysis trial - successful which a cause known arsenic "truth serum" is injected into the idiosyncratic earlier they are asked questions.

Even though they are not admissible successful court, a justice ordered the tests aft constabulary said that Mr Poonawala was misleading them by giving contradictory statements.

On Tuesday, constabulary told a tribunal that 80% of their probe was complete, but reports accidental that they are inactive looking for important grounds that would assistance them physique a watertight case.

No belongings of Ms Walkar person been recovered from the flat wherever the mates lived and immoderate of the grounds whitethorn person been compromised arsenic it's been months since the alleged murder.

Police accidental they judge that a "heavy, crisp weapon" similar a hack saw oregon a butcher's weapon was utilized to dismember the assemblage but they are yet to retrieve it.

It is besides not yet established if the bones they person recovered are truly of the unfortunate and immoderate reports accidental their prime whitethorn beryllium compromised since the remains person been recovered months aft the alleged murder.

There has been disapproval of Delhi constabulary that they person small factual grounds and that their lawsuit is wholly built connected circumstantial grounds that would not basal scrutiny successful court.

The BBC reached retired to Delhi constabulary but officials said they were "busy with the investigation".

But retired constabulary authoritative Vikram Singh says determination is "abundant grounds and a skilful researcher volition beryllium capable to get a conviction".

"Sometimes it takes clip to retrieve a limb utilized successful the transgression but if you've got a driblet of humor oregon spit oregon a shred of meat, you tin physique a watertight case."

Besides, helium says, determination is "enough circumstantial evidence" against Mr Poonawala - "they were surviving together, determination are accounts of neighbours and CCTV footage that shows Shraddha regularly coming successful and leaving the house, truthful helium has fewer flight routes available".

"But unless I cognize the afloat charges against him, I'm incapable to accidental however casual oregon hard it would beryllium to support him," helium added.